The sock bun made simple

Jennifer Lopez’s enviable bun at the recent Oscars ceremony? Looked an awful lot like a sock bun! Here’s how to get the look. (Psst — it’s a great updo option for those of you who have thin or shorter hair).

Buns have been all over the runways and red carpets for a few seasons now. But if you have shorter, layered or thin hair, pulling your hair into a traditional bun can be difficult; and, even if you’re able to do it, it can look wimpy. Your best bet is to do a sock bun instead. Here, we walk you through a how-to.

1. Take a tube sock and cut off the toe end so you have a long tube.
2. Comb your hair so it’s tangle-free and smooth. Apply a bit of hair paste to the palm of your hands and gently work it through your hair. (Alternatively, you can use some flexible-hold hairspray.) This is to give your hair some texture and a bit of tackiness; freshly clean hair is too slippery to work with.
3. Comb your hair again to ensure there are no tangles and smooth it into a ponytail, secured with an elastic where you want your bun to lie. Go for high up on your head for drama and, well, height; or, for a more demure look, have the ponytail rest at the nape of your neck. Alternatively, you can try it off to one side of your head, for an off-kilter look.
4. Take your whole ponytail and insert it into the sock tube you created. Scrunch the sock together, forming a doughnut close to the base of your ponytail.
5. Carefully split your ponytail hair into two halves, with a half on each side of the doughnut.
6. Lean forward to help the hair fall evenly and fan your hair equally around the sock doughnut.
7. Smoothing the hair as you go, tuck the ends of your hair under the tube form and secure with a few bobby pins. If you prefer a looser, deconstructed look, just tuck the ends in less uniformly and skip the bobby pins, so you have some pieces sticking out.
8. Finish with a final spritz of hairspray to help hold the shape.

Image credit: WENN

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